University of Toronto biologists discover an epigenetic key to unlock behavioural change in fruit flies

When it comes to behaviour, researchers have moved beyond the “nature versus nurture” debate. It’s understood that genes and environment both play a role. However, how they interact at a molecular level to shape behaviour is still unclear.

A new study led by scientists at the University of Toronto sheds valuable light on this relationship. The paper, published in  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, reveals how epigenetics – changes in gene expression that do not change DNA – interact with genes to shape different feeding behaviours in fruit flies. This research unlocks the molecular mechanism that leads “rover” flies to forage for food more than “sitter” flies.

Scientists Map Monogamy, Jealousy in the Monkey Mind

It’s perhaps one of the most common emotions to feel in a relationship, but one that’s virtually untouched when it comes to studying relationships in monogamous primate species. What scientists have recently discovered about jealousy in pair-bonded titi monkeys at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) offers insight into human emotions and their consequences.

Self-Portrait of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Marks Critical Test

What appears to be a unique selfie opportunity was actually a critical photo for the cryogenic testing of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The photo was used to verify the line of sight (or path light will travel) for the testing configuration.

A New Butterflyfish— A Rare, Surprise Find— Is Described from the Philippine “Twilight Zone” and Academy Exhibit

A newly described species of brown-and-white Philippine butterflyfish—the charismatic Roa rumsfeldi—made a fantastic, 7,000-mile journey before surprising scientists with its unknown status. Live specimens collected from 360 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in the Philippine’s Verde Island Passage escaped special notice until a single black fin spine tipped off aquarium biologists back in San Francisco. Deep-diving researchers from the California Academy of Sciences’ Hope for Reefs team—with genetic sequencing help from a parent–son team—share their discovery of a fifth species of Roa this week in ZooKeys.

Waves in lakes make waves in the Earth

Microseismic signals could aid in imaging subsurface geology

WhatsApp Use by Argentina Ambulances Associated with Faster Heart Attack Treatment

WhatsApp use by ambulance doctors in Argentina was associated with faster treatment of heart attack and lower mortality in an observational study presented today at the Argentine Congress of Cardiology (SAC 2017). The free messaging application was used to send diagnostic electrocardiograms (ECGs) directly to hospital catheterisation (cath) laboratories, enabling patients to bypass the emergency department.

Impact of Amazonian Hydropower is 'Significantly Underestimated', Study Finds

The environmental impact of hydropower generation in the Amazon may be greater than predicted, according to new University of Stirling research.

Space Greens Beat the Blues

Where people will go in the cosmos, plants will go. That’s the message of a paper entitled “Gardening for Therapeutic People-Plant Interactions during Long-Duration Space Missions” written by Raymond Odeh, and Charles L. Guy of the University of Florida (Gainesville) and published in the De Gruyter journal, Open Agriculture.

Itsy Bitsy Spider: Fear of Spiders and Snakes is Deeply Embedded in Us

Snakes and spiders evoke fear and disgust in many people. Even in developed countries lots of people are frightened of these animals although hardly anybody comes into contact with them. Until now, there has been debate about whether this aversion is innate or learnt. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig and the Uppsala University have recently discovered that it is hereditary: Babies as young as six months old feel stressed when seeing these creatures—long before they could have learnt this reaction.

Fossil coral reefs show sea level rose in bursts during last warming

Scientists from Rice University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies have discovered that Earth’s sea level did not rise steadily but rather in sharp, punctuated bursts when the planet’s glaciers melted during the period of global warming at the close of the last ice age. The researchers found fossil evidence in drowned reefs offshore Texas that showed sea level rose in several bursts ranging in length from a few decades to one century.